The SKS-45 Carbine was originally designed with a fixed 10 round, box magazine that opens and closes like a clamshell, rather than being removed, for reloading purposes. To date companies have tried to remedy this with the introduction of detachable magazines that be used in place of the original clamshell magazine while relying on the same sliding latch that held the original magazine closed to temporarily hold the now-removable magazine in place. While the concept behind this modification was good, a major drawback is that a user cannot change the magazine without breaking his or her grip on the fire control. That is, the removal of the empty magazine requires using one hand to pull the slide latch rearwardly away from the magazine toward the trigger guard, and use of the other hand to pull the detachable magazine out its engaged position in the stock. The current magazine changing process is therefore a cumbersome two handed operation.
Applicant has developed a unique push-lever magazine release that can be easily installed in place of the original slide latch to enables one-handed removal of a detachable magazine with little or no modification to the remaining original equipment.